Beautyberry
Callicarpa dichotoma is a non-native cousin of our American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), qualifying it as another one of my favorite shrubs!
This pretty pastel berried relative has many cultivar names- all with the same common name of beautyberry. It is clear that good looks run in the family and a reminder of how important it is to know botanical names when searching for plants!
This beautyberry is a small stature soft stemmed fountain shaped shrub. She does stay considerably shorter that her native cousin. This is partially because of her thin “oh so nimble” canes that bow to the point of nearly touching the ground when fully burdened with fruit and full leaf.
Her canes, if pruned off at the base and laid out flat on the ground could conceivably be 5’ or longer but because of her relaxed posture, she frequently reaches a growing height under 4' tall. This does mean she extends her width by season’s end. Allow some extra room for her mature full figure. Her cascading fountain shape needs to flex comfortably to look her best!
Summer catches her making a very girly effort to dress up. She sports a repeated series of small Barbie-doll bouquets of lavender rose in her leaf axils all along her wiry stems. These are attractive to butterflies and pollinators! (She is a distant relative of lantana and verbena!)
These flowers then become her “beautyberries. Her gracefully flexed willowy branches flaunt her beaded clusters of amethyst fruit as if she is posing for a “best dressed” red carpet award!
These clusters of pastel purple berries are then chilled to perfection, deepening to vivid violet. This is accentuated first by her “oh so yellow” leaves and then by her tawny bare naked stems. Such a beauty!
These berries typically remain intact for several weeks becoming a song bird treat with minimal mess!
Care Factor Rating: 2 She must be watered regularly until established but after that she is very drought tolerant. She performs best when given a hard pruning to near ground level (leave 3-6” of growth) Do this each spring before leaf bud breaks.
Callicarpa dichotoma is a non-native cousin of our American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), qualifying it as another one of my favorite shrubs!
This pretty pastel berried relative has many cultivar names- all with the same common name of beautyberry. It is clear that good looks run in the family and a reminder of how important it is to know botanical names when searching for plants!
This beautyberry is a small stature soft stemmed fountain shaped shrub. She does stay considerably shorter that her native cousin. This is partially because of her thin “oh so nimble” canes that bow to the point of nearly touching the ground when fully burdened with fruit and full leaf.
Her canes, if pruned off at the base and laid out flat on the ground could conceivably be 5’ or longer but because of her relaxed posture, she frequently reaches a growing height under 4' tall. This does mean she extends her width by season’s end. Allow some extra room for her mature full figure. Her cascading fountain shape needs to flex comfortably to look her best!
Summer catches her making a very girly effort to dress up. She sports a repeated series of small Barbie-doll bouquets of lavender rose in her leaf axils all along her wiry stems. These are attractive to butterflies and pollinators! (She is a distant relative of lantana and verbena!)
These flowers then become her “beautyberries. Her gracefully flexed willowy branches flaunt her beaded clusters of amethyst fruit as if she is posing for a “best dressed” red carpet award!
These clusters of pastel purple berries are then chilled to perfection, deepening to vivid violet. This is accentuated first by her “oh so yellow” leaves and then by her tawny bare naked stems. Such a beauty!
These berries typically remain intact for several weeks becoming a song bird treat with minimal mess!
Care Factor Rating: 2 She must be watered regularly until established but after that she is very drought tolerant. She performs best when given a hard pruning to near ground level (leave 3-6” of growth) Do this each spring before leaf bud breaks.
She is a slow to moderate growing cane shrub like many of our best performer. This means she spreads gradually by increasing from the crown / base by producing new shoots from the base annually. This makes her a perfect choice for low hedge or part of a screen grouping. If her individual personality is to remain defined, consider limiting the basal area / spread of this shrub in early spring before the leaves develop. Beautyberry is mostly disease and pest free. Flowering and fruiting are best when several are planted together!
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